Congressman Kenny Marchant was sworn in on January 4, 2005, as the Representative for the 24th District of Texas. Marchant and his wife, Donna, reside in Coppell, Texas. They have raised their four children (three sons and one daughter) in District 24 and are the proud grandparents of two grandchildren. Marchant is a graduate of R. L Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas and holds both a Bachelor’s and an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma. Marchant is a local businessman and investor. He is also active in funding educational scholarships, assisting local charities, and aiding local churches through the Marchant Family Foundation.

Congressman Marchant currently serves on the House Financial Services Committee, Education and Labor Committee and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. His legislative leadership in the U.S. Congress has earned him numerous distinctions including being named “Hero of the Taxpayer” and “Small Business Champion” by Americans for Tax Reform and one of the 2007 “Best and Brightest” Member of Congress by The American Conservative Union. Marchant was the recipient of the “Spirit of Enterprise” award by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for leading the way to create jobs and spur economic growth. Marchant has also been recognized by the Family Research Council as a “True Blue Member of Congress” for his unwavering commitment to strong family values.

Prior to his election to the United States House of Representatives, Marchant served nine terms as a Texas State Representative. During this time he served as Chairman of the Texas House Committee in Financial Institutions, Chairman of the House State Affairs Committee, and Chairman of the Texas House Republican Caucus.

During his three term tenure as Chairman of the Committee on Financial Institutions, Marchant directed and sponsored comprehensive reforms to reshape the face of the Texas State financial regulatory environment. His reforms included an overhaul of the Texas Banking Code, branch banking for interstate banks, and successful passage of legislation authorizing home equity borrowing.

As Chairman of the Texas House Republican Caucus, Marchant led his party in the 2002 elections to a majority in the Texas House for the first time since Reconstruction. As Republican House Caucus Chairman and Vice-Chairman, he served under Texas’ three modern Republican governors: Bill Clements, George W. Bush, and Rick Perry.

Marchant’s community and legislative leadership in the Texas House earned him numerous distinctions including, “Top Ten Legislator” by Texas Monthly magazine and Harte Hankes communications, “Citizen of the Year” by Metrocrest Chamber of Commerce, and “Legislator of the Year” by the Texas Municipal League.

Congressman Marchant began his career in public service in 1980 with his election to the Carrolton City Council. In 1984 he was elected Mayor of Carrolton. Marchant held the position of Mayor until 1987, when he was elected to the Texas State Legislature.

 A family helping of politics - From Carrollton to Congress, Marchants' power has modest roots
Dallas Morning News, The (TX) - Sunday, March 16, 2008
Author: STEPHANIE SANDOVAL, Staff Writer

With their hands in city, county and national politics and, at one time, the state Legislature, the Marchant family might seem to embody the term "dynasty." But it's not a label they welcome.

"That's the only way some people know how to describe it," said U.S. Rep. Kenny Marchant. "I would call it continuity more than anything else."

The Republican, who now lives in Coppell, has spent nearly 28 years in government - as a Carrollton City Council member and mayor, a state representative and, for the last four years, a member of Congress.

His brother Ron served two terms on the Carrollton council and 14 years as a Denton County justice of the peace before becoming a county commissioner in 2007.

And Kenny's son Matthew has become the third Marchant to serve on the Carrollton council, a platform that some expect to catapult him, too, to the mayor's chair and perhaps higher office.

Kenny drew no challenger in the March primary, and the local-election filing deadline passed last week with no one stepping forward to challenge Matthew in May.

While the family's political might can be a blessing at election time, it can also be a curse.

"When Matthew ran for mayor, a lot of people said ... they didn't want there to be a dynasty there," said Mayor Becky Miller, who narrowly won that 2005 race. She said many thought "he didn't deserve it just because he was a Marchant."

And in the 2006 race for county commissioner, people would say, "You're running against a Marchant? Yeah, you got my vote," said Amy Manuel, who took on Ron but lost.

Matthew said his family's prominence makes it a challenge "to be evaluated on your own." He largely shares his father's and uncle's conservative political views, work ethic and dedication to family, but "I don't ask to be elected because of my last name, and I don't use it to accomplish things."

'Elbow grease'

Some assume Matthew - whose father is wealthy - grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he said "there's more elbow grease and sweat than gilded-age stuff in my house."

Kenny, Ron and their three siblings were raised by a barber and a stay-at-home mom. Hobart Marchant, an Army veteran of World War II, cut hair near Marsh and Walnut Hill lanes in Dallas while Helen took in ironing and washing, baby-sat and sold magazines to supplement their income.

Kenny is the oldest sibling, followed by Ron, then Randy, Sandra and Pam. When the boys weren't shining shoes or sweeping hair at Hobart's shop, they threw paper routes, mowed lawns or washed dishes in restaurants.

"We were taught early that Mom and Daddy would put food on the table and clothes on our backs," Ron said. "Anything above that, we'd have to go out and earn the money ourselves."

Friends describe the family as close-knit, with strong Christian values. Most attend Carrollton Nazarene Church.

Hobart and Helen are thought of warmly even by some who aren't fans of their sons. Andy Olivo, a lawyer who left his Carrollton council seat to run for the Legislature in 2002, called Hobart "a very kind person, a very good citizen." He is less complimentary of Kenny, whom he accuses of reneging on a promise to support him if he resigned from the Carrollton council to run for the Legislature. It was that council seat that Matthew won in 2002.

"I wouldn't say it opened up a position for Matthew. People told me that," Mr. Olivo said. "But I thought it was unusual ... I didn't get the endorsement from Kenny."

Kenny said he told Mr. Olivo that he couldn't support an opponent of state Rep. Steve Wolens, his colleague and friend. He said he has encouraged a lot of people to run for office but has never manipulated anyone to create openings for his son.

Roots in service

Ron said he and Kenny aspire to be "simple civil servants" who "give more than we receive."

"That comes from my mom and my dad," he said, "because they've always been in a position - more through the church community than in a public arena - where they've given of themselves."

Hobart claims no credit for the clan's successes. "If they got any money, they had to make it themselves," he said, "and they did and decided to go to college."

As a measure of the family's closeness, all but two of Hobart and Helen's five kids, 15 grandkids and five great-grandkids live within about five miles of one another, mostly in Carrollton .

It is perhaps that family strength that has helped them through trying times. Ron and his former wife lost a premature baby and suffered a miscarriage. And a van crash during a 1998 mission trip in Mexico seriously injured Kenny's wife and daughter and left Kenny Jr., then 14, paralyzed below the waist.

"No one is exempt from what the world has to throw in your face," Ron said. "The difference is how you get through it. And God ... has helped us do that."

College years

Kenny and Ron both studied religion at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Okla., working their way through together as roofers.

"Kenny ... was showing us in college his propensity to set up a business and have some success at it," said former Denton County Judge Jeff Moseley, who attended college with the brothers.

After graduation, Kenny planned to go into the ministry, but "we had Matthew and had bills to pay, and every preacher I knew was poor as a church mouse."

So he came home and started a roofing business, then went into home construction and, eventually, property development and investments. Kenny made millions - he's the 18th-richest member of Congress, according to the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call - and his businesses eventually involved brothers Randy and Ron, as well as Hobart and Helen.

"Kenny and his success in business was a catalyst for a lot of people," Ron said.

Kenny entered politics in 1979.

"We had some building inspectors that were asking for bribes," he said. "We had some incompetence going on."

He said builders asked him to run for the Carrollton council to fix the problems. After two terms, plus one as mayor, he began 18 years in the Legislature, where he rose to become Republican leader in the House.

Into politics

Since his election to the U.S. House in 2004, Kenny has secured millions for transportation projects in his district, which extends from Carrollton south to Cedar Hill and Duncanville.

For Carrollton , he obtained funding to depress Belt Line Road to let the planned DART rail line run overhead and for a platform connecting the station to the historic downtown.

Family members say Kenny's foray into politics set an example for Ron and Matthew. Ron had gotten a taste in college, serving on the student council and helping two students run for the Bethany City Council. And after the dorm basement flooded, he helped campaign for a city bond election for a new storm water system.

"In those days of being young, I wanted to change the world one issue at a time," he said.

But it would be 1987, a decade after college, before Ron would enter the political arena in Carrollton . At the county level, he is best known for his work with juvenile offenders and truants.

Matthew entered politics at age 25, winning election to an unexpired Carrollton council term in 2002 and re-election in 2003. He lost the 2005 mayor's race but returned to the council in 2006.

Not long after, Matthew proposed - and the council approved - restricting where sex offenders can live, making Carrollton one of the first Texas cities to do so. He also instigated city incentives to encourage upgrades of older shopping centers. And he has supported the city's efforts against illegal immigration.

Future candidates?

There may also be other politicians up and coming in the family. Kenny's other son, Luke, worked for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and is running former Cornyn chief of staff Pete Olson's campaign for a Houston-area congressional seat. And Ron's son Zachary, a junior at the University of North Texas, has talked of running for office someday.

"Public service in one form or another has always been a part of what we do," Matthew said.

Staff writer Todd Gillman in Washington contributed to this report.

Kenny Marchant

Position: U.S. representative, 24th District

Age: 57 Birthplace: Bonham, Texas

Education: graduated, R.L. Turner High School, 1969; bachelor's degree, religion, Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, Okla., 1974; attended Nazarene Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Mo., 1975-76

Political career: elected, Carrollton City Council, 1980, 1982; elected, Carrollton mayor, 1984; elected, Texas House, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002; elected, Congress, 2004, 2006

Career: partner, Shake and Shingles Supply, 1976-80; owner and builder, Kenwood Homes, 1980-87; land developer, 1988 to 2004; investor and ranch owner, 2000 to present

Family: wife, Donna; children, Matthew, 31, Luke 27, Kenny Jr., 24, and Dallas, 22

Ron Marchant

Position: Denton County commissioner, Precinct 2

Age: 55 Birthplace: Bonham, Texas

Education: graduated, R.L. Turner High School, Carrollton , 1971; bachelor's degree in religious education, Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, Okla., 1977

Political career: elected, Carrollton City Council, 1987, 1989; elected, Denton County justice of the peace, Precinct 6, 1992 (unexpired term), 1994, 1998, 2002; elected, Denton County commissioner, Precinct 2, 2006

Career: associate professor, Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, Okla., 1977-79; owner/operator, Marchant Art Service, Oklahoma City, Okla., 1979-83; president, Kenwood Management, 1983-88; director of marketing, Westpark Medical Center, McKinney, 1988-90; director of marketing, HCA Denton Community Hospital, Denton, 1990-91; owner/operator, R.C. Marchant Custom Homes, Carrollton , 1991-93

Family: divorced; three children, Mackenzie, 23, Zachary, 21, and Hannah, 17

Matthew Marchant

Position: Carrollton mayor pro tem

Age: 31 Birthplace: Dallas

Education: graduated, Trinity Christian Academy, 1994; bachelor's degree in political science, Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, Okla., 1998; law degree, University of Texas law school, 2000

Political career: elected, Carrollton City Council, 2002 (unexpired term), 2003; lost race for mayor, 2005; elected to City Council (special election), 2006

Career: president, Hobart Development Inc., 2000-02; real estate lawyer, Strasburger & Price, Frisco, 2002 to present

Family: wife, Lindsay; two children, ages 4 and 22 months

FAMILY TIES

Here's a look at the political involvement of brothers Kenny and Ron Marchant and their sons:

KENNY MARCHANT

Former Carrollton City Council member, mayor and state House member, current U.S. representative. His children include:

-Matthew, a Carrollton council member whom some expect to one day run for mayor and possibly higher office

-Luke, who has worked for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and is helping with Pete Olson's Houston-area congressional campaign

RON MARCHANT

Former Carrollton council member and Denton County justice of the peace, current county commissioner. His children include:

-Zachary, who has talked of one day running for office